by Claire Adams
Leo was between consulting jobs as he finished his MBA and looked for a position that would give him an opportunity to demonstrate his knowledge. It was the perfect fit, and after we'd agreed upon a couple of rules that would govern the company, I'd handed over the reins to him.
"Alright, let's talk about this," I sighed as I sat down and looked up at him. "How can we manage this without putting my name in the papers?"
"Make me an equal partner in the business and I'll take all the heat," Leo said in a way that made me realize he'd been thinking about this for a lot longer than the last few days. "Either that or we can hope for a political scandal that will occupy the headlines for months."
"Well, the latter might not be so far off," I laughed. "It is Chicago, after all."
"C'mon, Cam," Leo said in a serious tone. "You know I'm not going to run off with the business or run it into the ground. You can trust me."
"I know, I know," I said, running my hand through my hair and suddenly feeling very tired. "It was never about that. It was..."
"The business was your baby," he finished. "It was what you turned to after Quinn was gone. I get it, Cam, but letting go of a little portion of it isn't going to mean that you've let go of her completely. We're in this together. This business can be so much more, but you've got to let go of the tight control."
"I know," I sighed. "I just feel like everything is changing so fast and I don't know what to do, Leo."
"What else is going on?" he asked.
"Nothing, it's just..." I began and then trailed off as I looked away not knowing how to finish the sentence. When I looked back up at him, I took a deep breath and said, "Fine, let's split it fifty-fifty and see how that goes. You take all the public heat, got it?"
"Happy to oblige," he grinned.
"But for God's sake, get yourself a girlfriend," I said shaking my head. "The last thing you need is a scandal based on your love of exotic massage girls."
"Hey, it works for me," he shrugged. "And I'm single; I don't see the problem!"
"Dammit, Leo," I growled. "If you're going to be the face of the company, then you have to act like a professional! I don't care if you hire the girl who just left here to play your girlfriend, just do something so that you don't get caught with your pants down and have to expose me in the process!"
"I got it, I got it," he said holding up a hand to ward off my tirade. "I'll take care of it."
"Good, and get the lawyers to draw up the paperwork," I said. "I'll swing back around early next week and sign everything."
"Cam, are you sure you're okay?" Leo asked quietly. "Is there anything I can do to help?"
"I'm fine," I said shaking my head. "I'm just tired and feeling a little out of sorts. Maybe I'll take Tesla for a run and see if I can't shake it."
"Maybe you need to find someone to talk to, Cam," Leo gently pushed. "You know, there's nothing wrong with that."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I said as I stood up and walked to the door. I opened it and then turned around, "Thanks, Leo. For everything."
"No sweat," he said waving me off. "That's what friends are for, man."
I nodded before heading out to my car wondering if I was making the right decision and, for the first time in a long time, feeling like taking a chance or two.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Alex
Several days later, Liz and I were in the basement pulling backup supplies for the ER when Mrs. Rikka cornered us.
"Ladies, I've had some complaints about the way in which you've handled some of the patients who've come into the ER," she said looking down at her clipboard then back up at us expectantly.
"I'm sorry, Mrs. Rikka," I said. "What were the complaints?"
"Apparently you treated a firefighter yourself?" she said raising an eyebrow. "Is this correct, Miss Pierce?"
"Oh no, ma'am," I said shaking my head vigorously. "I simply went to the back room to get him some gauze and he followed me."
"And why did you allow him to follow you?" Mrs. Rikka asked. "You are aware that you are not licensed to treat patients in any way, aren't you, Miss Pierce?"
"Yes, ma'am," I said feeling the heat creeping up into my face as I tried to explain what had happened. "I didn't allow him to follow me, he just did."
"Miss Pierce, when you are working in my hospital, you are expected to follow the rules set out by the board of hospital administrators who are far more knowledgeable and experienced than you are," she said sharply as she tapped out a staccato rhythm on her clipboard. "I expect that you will do what is expected of you and that I will not have to reprimand you again regarding your treatment of patients in this hospital. Right now, you are an intern who is here gaining experience through observation. You are never ever to treat a patient."
"But I didn't--," I protested.
"Do not argue with me, Miss Pierce," Mrs. Rikka said cutting me off. "Simply acknowledge that you've made a mistake and move forward."
"Yes, ma'am," I said quietly.
Liz cleared her throat and I quickly grabbed her arm and squeezed it to stop her from letting loose with what I knew would be a torrent of choice words.
"And as for you, Miss Baker," Mrs. Rikka turned her attention to Liz with narrowed eyes. "You have been reported as hanging around the pharmacy far too often. While you are on the ER rotation, you are to stay in the ER unless you are sent out of the department for a specific reason. Do you understand?"
"Yes, ma'am," Liz choked out reluctantly as I dug my nails into the soft underside of her arm. "I do."
"Good, I'm glad we've resolved these issues," Mrs. Rikka said as she turned to go. "Now, quickly gather your supplies and get back upstairs. There was an apartment fire over on the West Side and we're going to be getting a flood of patients in the next twenty to thirty minutes."
"Yes, ma'am," we said in unison as we quickly returned to the task of gathering supplies.
"I wonder if that hottie you were talking to is going to be back today," Liz grinned as she grabbed a handful of tape rolls and threw them in the basket.
"Liz!" I said as I felt the blush rising in my cheeks again. Secretly, I hoped that Cam Connor would be coming through the ER today because I hadn't been able to get him out of my thoughts since we had met.
I felt a little ashamed of my attraction to him since I knew he was probably a player who chatted up women all over town. A guy that good looking most likely had a string of women and I didn’t want to be lumped in with all the others, but I still wanted to see him again. I muttered under my breath, "Not like he's been thinking about me."
"What did you say, Alex?" Liz asked. "Are you talking to me?"
"Nothing," I mumbled. "Just thinking out loud."
"About the firefighter?" Liz grinned. "Damn, girl, he was a big, strong, Irish lad! Don't you want to be his lassie?"
"Liz, where on earth do you come up with this stuff?" I laughed as I rolled the cart around and scanned the supply room one last time to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything.
"Look, I like the boys, and I'm not ashamed of it," Liz declared her voice echoing in the cement room. She twirled around on her toes as she grabbed supplies from the shelves and then approximated being en point as she placed the items in the cart. Only Liz could pull off fake ballet moves in a basement supply room. "I think you should own it, Alex. He's a hot guy and you're a gorgeous, young nursing student. I mean, you can't make this stuff up!"
"You are impossible, Elizabeth Baker," I said rolling my eyes while secretly hoping she was right. Cam Connor was a handsome man, and I was definitely attracted to him. I just didn't want to be another notch on his bedpost. Or did I?
"That I won't deny," Liz smiled. "But I'm also right much of the time. Mark my words, that boy will be back to see you."
"What are you, psychic now?" I laughed as we pushed the cart into the elevator and headed back up to the ER.
"Psychic or psycho," Liz shrugged. "Same diff, different day!"
Back up in the ER, we found or
ganized chaos as the staff prepped for the incoming injured patients. Liz and I quickly stocked each exam area with as much gauze as it could hold and then went back to the back room to grab IV bags. The charge nurse warned us that burn injuries were pretty gruesome, and that if we felt sick or dizzy, we were to immediately step away from whatever treatment area we were observing.
"We can't afford to have to deal with you or your concussion, too," she smiled. I nodded and turned to ask Liz if she was going to be okay only to find she had disappeared. I frowned, but figured she'd found an intern to latch onto for the duration of our shift, so I followed the charge nurse to the outside ambulance bay and waited with her for the first ambulance to arrive.
Our first patient arrived a few minutes later, followed in rapid succession by several more ambulances with the most severe cases while the police brought some of the lesser burns in their squad cars. For the first few minutes, my stomach felt queasy and my head felt light, but soon I was put to work retrieving cooling blankets and medications from the pharmacy and was able to switch my brain from observer to helper.
Several hours later, I looked up and caught a glimpse of a man I thought was Cam, but turned out to be from another station and I felt the disappointment envelop me. I hadn't realized how much I wanted to see Cam Connor until I realized I wasn't going to get to see him. I sighed loudly and attracted the attention of the charge nurse.
"You okay, Alex?" she asked. "It's overwhelming, I know. But this is the reality of the job. All or nothing."
"No, that's fine, ma'am," I said as I looked around the ER and counted how many patients we'd seen. "It's just..."
"It's just that the cute fireman you had you eye on hasn't rotated in?" she smiled with a twinkle in her eye. I blushed so red that I could feel my face burning without reaching up to touch it. She dropped her voice and said, "It's okay, Alex. We've all been there. And if someone says they haven't been, then they're lying."
"Yes, ma'am," I nodded swallowing hard to cover my embarrassment.
"And you can call me Leslie," she said. "This ma'am stuff is making me feel old as hell."
I smiled gratefully as I nodded again and looked around for Liz. I hadn't seen her all afternoon, and I had no idea where she'd disappeared.
"Have you seen Liz lately?" I asked Leslie.
"Last time I saw her she was with the team in Trauma One," Leslie said without looking up from the chart she was updating. I thanked her and walked down the hall to the room. I peeked in and found Liz sitting on the counter next to the sink talking to one of the residents who'd joined the ER the same day we had.
"Alex!" Liz cried. "Come see what this crazy mofo can do in the sink!"
"Liz? Are you okay?" I asked slowly walking across the room. I could see that Liz's eyes were dilated and she was talking a mile a minute as she watched the resident washing things in the sink.
"Yeah, I'm great! Look at all this shiny stuff!" she said waving her arm out across the sink full of silver instruments. "Aren't they pretty?"
"Liz, we need to get back out on the floor," I said looking at the resident who appeared to be moving in slow motion. "C'mon, let's go."
Liz hopped off of the counter, walked over and grabbed my hand before dragging me out the door and skipping down the hallway. I eyed her suspiciously knowing that this was not normal behavior. Not even for Liz.
"Don't be a worry wart, Alex," she said as she patted my head. "I'm fine, I'm just a little tired and kind of loopy after the all-night studying session and then this shift."
"If you're sure..." I said trailing off unconvinced as Leslie came around the corner and announced that our shift was over.
Liz and I headed to the locker room to gather our things before we stepped outside and found that it had snowed all day. The city was covered in a fresh blanket of pure, white snow, making it look clean and new. Liz scooped up a handful and threw it at me laughing as she ran away. I dropped my backpack on the sidewalk, scooped up a handful of snow and dashed after her laughing as I ran. We threw snowballs at each other in the yard until we were exhausted from laughing while ducking from the flying snow.
"Truce!" Liz called as she walked over and stuffed a handful of snow down the back of my coat. I screamed in protest as she laughed before dropping to the ground and proceeding to make a snow angel. Once she’d finished and was satisfied with the results, we headed back to where we'd dropped our things only to find our backpacks were gone.
"Oh no!" I moaned as I looked around. I was cursing myself for being so careless when I heard a familiar voice.
"Did you ladies leave your things unattended?" a male voice asked. I turned and found myself face to face with Cam Connor.
CHAPTER NINE
Cam
"Hello, Alex Pierce," I smiled as I handed her one of the two backpacks I was holding.
"Nice try," she laughed and reached for the other one before asking, "What are you doing here?"
"Well, that's a nice way to greet a guy who rescued your belongings from certain theft," I said still smiling at her. She looked even more beautiful than I remembered, with her hair covered in snow and eyes shining.
"Sorry," she quickly replied as she turned and handed the second backpack to the friend who had been pelting her with snowballs moments before. "This is Liz Baker. Liz, this is Cam Connor. You remember him, don't you?"
"Nope not at all," the other girl grinned as she stuck out a hand. "But it's nice to meet you just the same, Cam Connor."
"It's nice to meet you, Liz Baker," I said as I shook her hand and let her give me the once-over. I could tell she was suspicious and I didn't blame her a bit. If the situation had been reversed and it had been Leo, I would have done the exact same thing.
"What are you doing here, Cam?" Alex asked again.
"Well, I just...I came by...," I stammered suddenly realizing that I didn't have a prepared excuse because I wasn't expecting to have needed one.
"You're here because you wanted to see Alex again," Liz said bluntly. "It's cool, Cam. She wanted to see you, too"
"Liz!" Alex gasped and then blushed a deep shade of red. "You're not supposed to say that!"
"Why not?" Liz shrugged looking back and forth between Alex and I. "It's true, isn't it?"
"Yeah, it is," I admitted deciding it was better to tell the truth now that I'd been caught. "I wanted to come see you again and not have to rush off to another call."
"I'm glad," Alex smiled at me before shooting Liz a semi-dirty look. "I wanted to see you, too."
"All right, now that we've gotten that established, are the two of you going to agree to go have dinner together?" Liz asked looking at her phone before looking back up at the two of us. "I've got a date at seven, so I need to get going, kids."
"Would you like to go to dinner with me, Alex?" I asked, feeling self-conscious about being put on the spot to do what I'd come here to do.
"I'd...yes, I'd like that," Alex nodded. Her face was still tinged with a light shade of pink from the blush that was slowly fading. She looked up at me with a slight frown, saying, "But I'm not really dressed for a date."
"No problem, we can go somewhere casual," I suggested. "Maybe somewhere close to the hospital so that you don't feel out of place?"
"I'm going to leave the two of you to negotiate this on your own," Liz said as she slung her backpack over her shoulders and turned toward the street.
"Do you want a ride?' I called as she trudged through the snow.
"Nah, I'm good, I've got a cab coming," she called as she waved. As she reached the street, a cab pulled up and we watched as Liz climbed in. I felt a little nervous now that our buffer was gone.
"Are you hungry?" I asked as I looked down at the pretty young woman in front of me.
"Honestly, I'm starving," she said. "We didn't get much of a lunch break today because the ER was so busy."
"Then how about we go get a couple of big, juicy burgers and some beer to help rectify that?" I asked as I turned and gesture
d toward where my truck was parked. "I'm over on the side street."
"That sounds like a great plan," Alex nodded as she turned and started walking in the direction I'd pointed to.
Halfway down the walk, her foot hit a patch of ice and she slipped. I quickly reached out and wrapped an arm around her to keep her from falling.
"Oh!" she gasped as I held her tightly for a few seconds longer than absolutely necessary before setting her back on her feet. She turned and looked up at me, "Thank you, Cam. I guess it's a little more slippery than I thought it would be tonight."
"No problem," I smiled as I held out my arm so she could hold on to it. "That's what your friendly neighborhood firefighter is here for."
Alex laughed out loud as she gripped my arm and walked a little more cautiously. At the truck, I unlocked the door and helped her up into the cab before hopping up into the driver's seat.
"This is a really nice truck. It's so modern," she said looking at the dashboard, which had the appearance of the control panel for a small aircraft. "These things must cost a fortune!"
"It's all in the financing," I laughed as I sidestepped the issue of money for now. It wasn't that I wanted to hide the fact that I had money, it was more that before I'd learned to be careful about who I let into my life; I'd been burned and had emerged wiser in the way I allowed women to know things about me. Now, when I went out on dates, I tried to give the impression that I was a normal guy rather than trying to impress my dates with how much money I could spend on them.
"I guess it would have to be, wouldn't it?" she nodded as she ran her hands across the smooth leather seats and then let out a little laugh as she realized the seats were warming up. "Oh my, now that's nice! I wish they had this feature on the buses!"
"If they did, no one would ever get off of them," I observed as I backed out of the parking space and headed toward my favorite downtown pub. "Is O'Neil's on Wells okay with you?"